Debates
05 Feb 09
07 Feb 09
I don't have a right to a cookie.
What is meant by this is that cookies are not, or ever, can be considered rights. Same as a roof, a liter of water, an appendix operation.
I have a right to acquire cookies.
If I have acquired a cookie it is then mine. Others recognise that I have acquired a cookie. It does not need laws, lawyers or guvamints all it takes is too people that recognise what rights are. You patently do not recognise what rights are which is why you continue to misuse the word and remain an advocate for the violation of rights.
08 Feb 09
Originally posted by WajomaCountries are somewhat arbitrary divisions, true. However, the people of those divisions empower themselves to make rules binding on each other. Those rules are not binding on people in other countries. Therefore, when I use the term "society" I am referring to countries.
What society? The village? The family? The tribe? the coujntry? The world?
Why do you draw a line around the US, what about all those all over the world, are they not part of society, are you going to care for them all, are they not "fellow man" part of world society.
It would be nice to be able to care for myself, family and friends with out having the ability to do so limited by having to care for the crackead in another city.
You would not be able to take care of yourself or anybody else in the way you are accustomed to i.e. by accumulating wealth and buying goods without legal rules defining the conduct of business (legal enforcement of contracts for example) and tools provided by society as a whole (like a currency for example). Since you reap the benefits of society, you are also subject to its rules. US society, like virtually all societies, has mandated that a minimum standard of living is provided to even people who make decisions you consider "bad". At its heart, it is a form of self-protection as most rational people recognize that members of society can face ruin for many reasons, a lot of which are mostly misfortunes which they have little control over. The recent economic downturn is destroying millions of jobs through no fault of the people who did those jobs. They'd be completely screwed in your "dog eat dog" philosophy, but "decent societies" try to help them out (however inadequately). It would be against our nature as social, emphatic animals to do less.